Now that they have voted to cut out the shoulder charge, down under, should we be following suite?. IMO, there is nothing wrong with a legal charge and the argument against it evolves from the fact that in many cases the shoulder charge almost always leads to the forearm and fist creeping up into the oppositions face and neck areas which can obviously cause serious damage. This is going to cause some problems for the refs and will no doubt lead to some dodgy decisions.
If such a tackle has to take place, surely it could be ruled that the arm of the aggressor has to be carried down by his side in order to prevent use of the forearm.

Now that they have voted to cut out the shoulder charge, down under, should we be following suite?. IMO, there is nothing wrong with a legal charge and the argument against it evolves from the fact that in many cases the shoulder charge almost always leads to the forearm and fist creeping up into the oppositions face and neck areas which can obviously cause serious damage. This is going to cause some problems for the refs and will no doubt lead to some dodgy decisions.If such a tackle has to take place, surely it could be ruled that the arm of the aggressor has to be carried down by his side in order to prevent use of the forearm.

I think it all depends on the type of player bob. If the player is a decent lad and no intentions of smashing his opposite number then the shoulder charge will work but if you have a guy like rangi shoulder chase then the shoulder charge should be banned. But I think it's all up to the players to play the shoulder charge properly I know they will be accidents but I don't mind them if their isn't any intent.

Eric Batten was an expert at the shoulder charge Bob. He always went shoulder to shoulder, very effectively. Nothing wrong with it if executed properly. So lets keep it and severely penalise people who deliberately set out to injure.